Leap Day

by Wendy Mass

  “I know what will cheer you up. A practical joke. I got an oldie but a goodie in mind.”

  “That’s okay, Grandpa. I’m not really in the mood.”

  “Trust me.”

  Five minutes later Rob hands his grandmother the end of a long piece of yarn and asks her to hold it for a minute. Grandpa had told him to tell her something as technical as possible so she won’t ask too many questions. He thinks for a minute and tells her he has to measure the square footage of that part of the house to see how far the stereo speakers will project sound. Rob backs away from her, unspooling the rest of the yarn, and pulls it tautly around the corner, down the hallway, and into the den where his grandfather directs him to tie it around the leg of the coffee table. They go to hide behind the couch, Rob supporting his grand- father so his knees won’t ache. Every once in a while Rob can’t contain a chuckle and it slips out.

  “You’re right,” he whispers. “I do feel better.”

  “I’m sorry, I think I misunderstood you,” Josie’s mom whispers to her husband as they set the dining room table for Josie’s birthday dinner. “It sounded like you said you got a job at Disney World as a part-time guest relations host for eight dollars an hour, and that Josie helped you this afternoon.”

  “I did,” Jonathan whispers back. They are whispering so Josie’s grandmother, who for some reason is standing in the hall holding a piece of yarn, won’t hear. Josie’s dad carefully places a fork on the center of a napkin and avoids his wife’s eyes. “It was a childhood dream of mine.” He figures saying that will make it harder for her to argue with him; after all, who doesn’t want their loved ones’ childhood dreams to come true?

  Josie’s mom watches her husband, whom she thought she knew everything about by now. “Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?”

  “It all happened so fast,” he explains.

  “You’re still looking for a real job, though, right?” she asks, holding her breath.

  “Yes, of course,” he readily assures her. “In fact I have an interview next Thursday.”

  She isn’t sure whether to believe him, so she manages a smile and hurries off to check the stove. Everything around her feels a little unfamiliar.

  Andy Moraniz shifts his weight onto one leg and balances the three pizza boxes on his opposite hip. With his free hand he rings the bell at the Taylor residence. He couldn’t believe it when they told him at the store that his next delivery included having to give a speech. As the door opens he finds himself wondering if he’ll still get a tip, since the pizzas are free. Andy thinks it’s a pretty good deal that all you have to do is be born on a certain day and BAM, free pizza for life. When he and his fiancée get married, they’ve already decided to plan it so their baby will be born on Leap Day.

  Josie’s mom watches her family at dinner and wishes they could see themselves as she sees them. Her husband keeps brushing his hand against the shirt pocket, where his new plastic name tag is hidden; Rob is chewing slowly and his eyes are downcast; and Josie dips her french fries in ice cream like it’s the most normal thing in the world. Even with so many people around, Josie is inside her own head, as usual, watching everything but only seeing half of it.

  Watching his sister open her gifts gets Rob’s mind off of Anne. Josie takes such a childlike joy in the process. First she examines each item while it’s still in the wrapping paper. He can practically see the gears turning inside her head as she tries to figure out what the present is. Then she rips off the paper and tosses it in the air in her hurry to get at the present. Mom scoops the wrapping paper up and tries to salvage what’s left in case she needs to use it some day. In fact, the gift certificates from Mom and Dad are wrapped in the recycled green-and-red paper from last Christmas. When the pile has been exhausted, everyone leaves the room except Rob and his grandfather.

  “Call her,” his grandfather demands.

  “Now?”

  “Now.”

  He pushes himself up from the floor. “I don’t think it will do any good.”

  “Call who?” his grandmother asks, coming back into the room with a small bag. She must have forgotten to give Josie one of her presents.

  “The pope,” his grandfather answers.

  His grandmother turns to Rob and says, “It should be crystal clear that I didn’t marry your grandfather for his sense of humor.”

  Josie’s grandmother leaves the two alone in the den and slowly ascends the stairs. From Josie’s doorway, she watches Josie typing away on the computer. She and Josie are so much alike, and so different. Sometimes when she looks at her she sees the ghost of herself at that age. So much ahead of her. So many joys and disappointments. Of course, in her day at sixteen you already knew your future. In the next few years you’d get married, have babies, and maybe be a teacher or a nurse if you had to work outside of the house. But Josie has the whole world at her feet. The odd thing is, she doesn’t envy her granddaughter’s options. Life today is a lot more complicated.

  She watches Josie’s face light up when she sees the ring. Giving it away after forty-six years is both a strange and satisfying feeling. Her jeweler did such a wonderful cleaning job that no one would guess it wasn’t brand new. Before he put it back in the box she had tried to put it on. It wouldn’t fit, although she tried every finger. They were too swollen with age.

  Rob wants to be as far away from the rest of the family as possible when he makes the call. He could take his cell phone out to the Shark, but since that was the place she dumped him, it probably wouldn’t bring very good karma. He decides to use the phone up in his parents’ room. He sits on his mom’s side of the bed and stares at the phone. Now or never. He picks it up, dials the number, and immediately hangs up. This wouldn’t be a problem if Anne didn’t have caller ID. But since of course she does, he now has to call back or look like an idiot.

  He paces the room, and as he passes his father’s dresser he sees a folder on top marked “Guest Relations.” He opens the folder and flips absently through the pages. Anything to avoid making the phone call. It takes him a few seconds to realize what he’s looking at. “Magic Kingdom New Hire Training Schedule” with “Jonathan Taylor” written on the top. He always knew his dad was a little strange, but what the heck is all this? He hears Josie turn on the shower and knows he has to hurry and make the call while she’s still in there. He shuts the folder and makes sure it’s in the same position on the dresser. He calls Anne’s number again, this time letting it ring. After four rings, her machine picks up. Not having prepared for that outcome, he babbles something along the lines of, “Rob, it’s Anne, I mean, obviously I mean Anne, it’s Rob. I really want to talk about today, or see you, whichever, or talk, that’s fine. Okay? Call me.” He places the phone back in the cradle and shakes his head. It was nice while it lasted. How many people wind up spending their life with their first girlfriend anyway?

  Anne sits on her bed and listens to Rob’s voice as he leaves his message. Her hand reaches toward the phone but she jerks it back. Just hearing his voice, deep and pleading and sad, makes her doubt her decision. The blinking red light on the answering machine stares up at her like an accusing eye. Before she can change her mind, Anne leans over and presses the delete button. She then walks purposefully down the hall, past her bathroom, past her parents’ bedroom, and into the kitchen. She opens the refrigerator, roots through the bottom shelf, and grabs an onion. The outer layer peels off easily. She turns it around in her hands until the smell stings her eyes and she has to blink a few times to clear them. Then she bites into it hard, like it was an apple.

  After dinner, when Josie asks all of them to make a wish, Rob wishes he’ll get over Anne soon so he won’t be the only football player sitting home on prom night. Josie’s grandmother wishes she could stop the aging process, since she still feels sixteen. Josie’s grandfather wishes for regular bowel movements. Josie’s father wishes that he’ll win Disney Employee of the Month. Josie’s mom wishes mothering teenagers came with a handbo
ok. Katy wishes Josie will still be her friend after they talk about the note. Zoey wishes that she’ll get some action at the lake tonight. Megan wishes she gets to be Belle, and that Josie gets to be Juliet. She also wishes that the guy Zoey is setting her up with at the lake tonight will like her. Dennis wishes that he hadn’t sold that bag of oregano to those college guys claiming it was weed. He also wishes that they won’t figure it out until they are far away from Orlando.

  Rob sits on the steps and watches as Katy takes control of the piñata game. He thinks she is a good influence on his sister. Katy seems to have it all together and is usually the one to take charge in the group. She laughs as she twirls Megan around, and Rob wonders why he never noticed that she has a very throaty, sexy laugh.

  As everyone else is scrambling to get the candy into their bags, Rob pulls Dennis aside and tells him to keep an eye on things at the lake. Since no one ever entrusts Dennis with such things, he readily agrees. As much as he hates to admit it, Dennis is jealous of Rob and Josie’s relationship. Of their whole family, actually. They truly seem to like each other. Rob and Josie would never set a Port-a-Potty on fire. They wouldn’t need to. He decides he’s glad that Zoey blackmailed him into driving her friends tonight by threatening to tell their parents he changed every grade on his last report card. He knows she swiped his cigarettes from under the bed. When her friends aren’t around, he plans to warn her not to start smoking. It turns out he won’t need to.

  9:00 P.M.– 11:15 P.M.

  Chapter 11A: Josie

  Before I squish into the back of Dennis’s old Pontiac next to Katy and Megan, I look up at the sky. Only a half moon tonight. I wish I knew why that is a good thing. I close the door behind me and quickly roll down the window because the car smells like old cigarettes and fast food hamburgers. The Playboy air freshener hanging from the rearview mirror isn’t helping. I notice Zoey has a backpack on her lap in the front seat. Even though it doesn’t make any sense why she would have brought it, I lean forward and ask, “Is that the scavenger hunt stuff?”

  Zoey shakes her head. “Just some supplies for tonight.”

  I turn to Katy. I am trying to sound casual, but my heart is thumping. “Supplies? For what?”

  Katy gets all wide-eyed and innocent. “Don’t ask me.”

  Maybe someone else in this car will tell me something. In my sweetest voice, I ask, “Dennis, can you tell me what’s going to happen at the lake?”

  “Not even if I wanted to,” he says, turning left onto Orange Avenue toward Lake Eola. “No one brought me for my sixteenth birthday.”

  “Oh.” And then, so that he won’t feel bad — okay, so I won’t feel as bad — I say, “You’re lucky.”

  He doesn’t respond. We’re now passing through the area of town with all the funky clothes shops and music stores and lots of bars and clubs. It’s pretty quiet out right now, but on the weekends there are lots of people in the streets, and my mother used to never let me hang out here. Now that I have my license, I can come down here whenever I want. I still can’t believe it.

  As we approach the lake, Dennis makes a few turns and then pulls off onto a gravel road that I’ve never noticed before.

  I ask why we’re going this way.

  “We’re actually not going to Lake Eola,” Zoey says. “We need a place a little more hidden.”

  “Great,” I mutter.

  Katy pats my hand. It doesn’t help.

  A good ten minutes later we turn off the road and into a little parking lot area with a lot of trees. I can’t even see the lake from here. Besides us, there are only four other cars.

  “I thought it would be more crowded,” I say as we get out of the car.

  “Well, it is a Monday night,” Megan says.

  “Dennis,” Zoey says, swinging the bag over her shoulder. “You can stay with the car if you want.” She is clearly hoping he’ll agree.

  He shakes his head. I’m actually kind of relieved. It’s very dark out.

  “Suit yourself,” Zoey says. “But you’re not sitting with us.” She gestures for us to follow her and heads right into the woods.

  “No way,” I say, stopping at the edge of the parking lot. “There could be snakes in there.”

  “There are no snakes,” Megan says, pushing me forward. “It’s only a two-minute walk.” Everyone else is already far ahead so I see no choice but to follow. The leaves and branches crunching under my feet make me very glad I’m wearing thick sneakers. I’m also glad I’m wearing jeans and not shorts. God knows what kinds of creepy, crawly things are in here. Everyone else is laughing and having a grand time trampling through the woods in the dark. I wish I could be like that. I don’t care what Rob said, I wish there was a full moon. That way it wouldn’t be so dark and every tree wouldn’t look like something out of a nightmare.

  My eyes are just starting to adjust to the dark when we step out into a big clearing. About fifty feet in front of us sits a lake not as big as Eola, but I can still only barely see the other side of it. The surface of the water reflects the trees around it and the stars and moon above.

  “See?” Zoey says. “Wasn’t it worth the scary walk through the woods?”

  I grudgingly agree. It’s much lighter here because scattered around the beachfront are small bonfires with groups of two to four people around them.

  Zoey points to one with two boys. “There they are,” she says, and starts walking toward them, the bag bouncing on her shoulder. Megan hurries after her, and Dennis wanders off to start his own bonfire on the other side of the clearing.

  “Who are these people?” I ask Katy as we trudge slowly behind Zoey and Megan.

  “Zoey met one of them a few weeks ago. They go to Orlando South.”

  I walk even slower. Hanging out with strange guys doesn’t exactly thrill me. “Katy, in case this is our last moment alone, remember that you promised to give me that note tonight. Or at least tell me what was in it.”

  “I know. You haven’t let me forget for a second.”

  We reach the bonfire and sit down on the hard-packed sand. Zoey introduces us to Marc and Justin, juniors at Orlando South. I prefer to think of them as Joe and Shmo. They are both blond, very preppy, and judging by the empty beer bottles next to them, not very sober. Megan is sitting very close to Shmo, so I can only assume that Joe is the one Zoey likes.

  “They were supposed to bring two friends,” Zoey explains as she unzips her backpack.

  “It’s really okay,” Katy insists.

  “Yes,” I add. “No problem at all.” Even though my infatuation with Grant has been severely tested this afternoon, I’m relieved I don’t have to deal with being set up with anyone.

  The first thing Zoey pulls out of her bag is a huge Hershey’s chocolate bar. Maybe the big ritual is making s’mores, and they got me all nervous for nothing. Zoey rests the chocolate on her leg and reaches back into the bag. This time she pulls out a stack of plastic cups and a tall dark bottle. I lean closer and read the label. HIRAM WALKER BLACKBERRY BRANDY. The last time I checked, s’mores were made with chocolate, graham crackers, and marshmallows. No brandy anywhere in the ingredients. Katy and I exchange glances. The only alcohol we’ve ever had was champagne on New Year’s Eve once with Katy’s parents. Megan doesn’t seem surprised to see the brandy. She must have been in on it.

  Zoey passes a cup to each of us and unscrews the top of the brandy bottle. “First we need to toast Josie’s fourth birthday.”

  “Huh?” Joe says. “How can it be her fourth birthday?” “Because my birthday is today,” I explain. “February twenty-ninth.”

  “I don’t get it,” Shmo says.

  “You know, Leap Day? Only once every four years?”

  “Ohhh,” Joe says. “Cool.”

  “That sucks,” Shmo says. “You’re not gonna be twenty-one for, like, ever.”

  “It’s a burden,” I sigh dramatically. “But I’ve learned to live with it.”

  Katy punches me and I try not to laugh.<
br />
  “Okay, enough of that,” Zoey admonishes us. “We have to get down to business.” She stands up and goes around the circle, filling each of our cups halfway.

  I bring the cup to my nose and sniff it. Kind of fruity.

  “Wait,” Megan says. “Don’t forget the chocolate.”

  “Oh yeah.” Zoey hurries to unwrap the big bar. Then she breaks off a little piece and drops one in each of our cups. “This is supposed to make it taste better. To Josie,” she says, holding her cup out in front of her. “Happy birthday to one of the best people I know.”

  Aw, shucks. We all tap our cups together, except for the boys who are already guzzling theirs down. I tentatively bring the cup to my lips and peek over the edge to watch my friends. Megan and Zoey have already taken a sip and have almost identical grimaces on their faces. I turn to Katy.

  “Bottoms up,” she says and takes a big swig. Then she grabs her throat and says something that sounds like, “Achachahhhh.”

  Not very inspired by anyone’s reactions, I take a very small sip and then a slightly larger one. It burns my throat a little, but feels slightly warm too. It sure tastes bad though. Megan and Zoey are both forcing themselves to take some more sips, but Katy and I have put ours down in the sand. I reach in and pull out the chocolate to suck on. It didn’t seem to help the taste of the brandy. And the taste of the brandy sure hasn’t helped the taste of the chocolate. I toss it into the fire where it quickly melts into a brown puddle.

  “Anyone got any cigarettes?” Joe asks.

  To my great surprise, Megan digs into her sweatshirt pocket and pulls out a pack of Marlboro Lights. She hands them to Joe.

  “Since when did you start smoking?” I ask her. “Belle does not smoke.”

  “Why would a bell smoke?” Shmo asks.

  I’m about to answer but decide it’s not worth it.

  Megan says, “Don’t worry, I’m not smoking.”

  “I’ll try one,” Zoey says. Joe pulls one out and hands it to her. “Does anyone have any matches?” Joe asks. “Or a lighter?” “You don’t have any?” Katy asks. “How did you start the fire?” “We used a match. But after we lit the fire we threw the pack in to watch them pop.”